Kitchen remodel

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Kitchen remodel

I am new to carpentry and I've only built a few things before so this remodel should be interesting..
if all goes well I will end up with a rustic, cottage style country kitchen.
will post pics as i go but, the real reason i started a thread is to get all the advice everyones willing to give..
thanks ahead for all your help!

Kitchen remodel

ugly..the kitchen that is, not my Chloe!!
so now i need to seal and stain? (not sure).. these slabs. but with what and what to fill the holes in with. epoxy? the guy who sold me the slabs said tongue oil instead of stain, and my genius local (to the site) mentor, cocobolo is going to let me know what he thinks once he finds out the type of wood i'm using here
...which is yellow poplar btw

Kitchen remodel

oops ..i just posted a reply on your thread because i checked it first.. i wasnt sure if youd come to my party lol
the slabs..all four..are 2 1/2 in thick..5 feet long..and 32 in wide together at the widest part. they weigh about 50-60 lb apiece, each set has two pieces. ill use one set for a table and one for the island.
I will keep my rambling on this thread now that i know your visiting, i promise !

Kitchen remodel

Good luck!

I gutted my kitchen 2 weeks ago. I'm doing wood countertops, just regular butcherblock ones though. I'm treating them w/ Waterlox in my basement right now, hopefully I can get coat #4 on by Thursday night so I can install them this weekend.

Kitchen remodel

I was gonna go with butcherblock but my budget for this entire kitchen is 2000.00 ! so i guess i'm stuck making them myself...it will be awhile for those though..i gotta get the island and lower cabinets built..then the scary task of finishing the slab..hope i dont mess THAT up!

Kitchen remodel

Before i continue, I guess some may want to know a little about me so I'm not a blank....
I'm a 35 year old mom of three boys, three cats, two dogs, and 2 turtles, and a fiancee.
I'm a dog groomer by trade, and a carpenter by the skin of my teeth. I wish i knew more about it.
I paint canvas and murals, play guitar, and i love my gardens and yardwork.
I'm taking on this project because feeding five people in that horrid kitchen has become unbearable...even my shoddy cabinetmaking would be better, not that i've ever made a cabinet mind you..
I will have no helpers above 13 years old and the only thing ive ever built so far is my sons bed frame.
So...like i said. this should be interesting

Kitchen remodel

I admire you taking on this task. Where is your fridge, and is your
fiancee handy? I hope so. what are your plans for table legs?
(or are you using your current table base?)
and the Island bottom?

Your table looks nice, does it have a leaf? If you put in the leaf,
wouldn't that be big enough for five people?
you also could pick up 2 more chairs...I picked up great looking
chairs at our local good-will store.

Kitchen remodel

right now my fridge is in the dining room..it will go in the corner where the kitchen table is after we cut that doorway out 36 in wider.
I plan to make a simple base like the one in this pic for the island.
together the slabs only weigh about 110 lb
unfortunately..my fiancee is either out of town or he's working on our basement remodel...which i will post pics of when we start on it again

Kitchen remodel

Quote:

Originally Posted by leiona

oops ..i just posted a reply on your thread because i checked it first.. i wasnt sure if youd come to my party lol
the slabs..all four..are 2 1/2 in thick..5 feet long..and 32 in wide together at the widest part. they weigh about 50-60 lb apiece, each set has two pieces. ill use one set for a table and one for the island.
I will keep my rambling on this thread now that i know your visiting, i promise !

Of course I'll come to your party!

You don't have a big budget for the kitchen, but it should be adequate given that you are going to do the work yourself. The two most expensive rooms in any house are always the kitchen and the bathroom...and you have picked the most expensive of the two!

Is it possible to find out when these trees were cut down that the slabs come from, and can you check the present moisture content?

One thing I might suggest is that you get the slabs inside the house (preferably in the kitchen) so that they become acclimatized to the inside environment.

Here's another suggestion. Weigh each of the slabs on your bathroom scale and keep a note of the weight. Perhaps attach a piece of paper to the back of each slab. Check the weight every two weeks or so to see if they are getting lighter.

You don't want to be getting the wood sealed prematurely, it needs to be dry first.

Kitchen remodel

gotcha..i put the wood in the kitchen..i'll call the guy and ask how long they've been cut and drying for. im just gonna sand on it for awhile while i concentrate on building the base.
what do you think about varnishing the underside so i can attach it to the base while i work on the top side? i really have nowhere else to work on it but the floor, ..thats not an option with all these kids and animals here!
Ill have ahell of a time too if i varnish the top 'cause of the dust from the woodburner in here, and the hair flying around!
i like the way you attached the legs to your slab table...do you think i could get the same effect by gluing two 2x4's together and attaching them to the top 2x4 support like so...

i hope its clear enough to see..slab seller just called me back. wood has been cut for two years ..dried in his kiln for four months

Kitchen remodel

You could attach them like that, but use a single 4 x 4, or 3 x 3 rather than two 2 x 4's...it will look much better.

And if it is possible to get some poplar which roughly matches your slabs it will look better yet.

You could also use metal brackets to attach the legs instead of using 2 x 4's for that underside frame. That way you wouldn't see the attachment system, and you wouldn't lose any legroom below the table top.

No varnishing yet until you find out about the moisture content, please.